In Another's Eye
by LoveOlixre27
Summary: Samantha is married to Patrick Drake, Jason is dating Elizabeth Webber, He was gone from Port Charles, seemingly believed to be dead for two years. Once Jason finds his way back home, it isn't long before he is back in the hospital fighting for his life. Will Sam be by his side or will she happily stand on the sidelines on Patrick's arm.
1. Chapter 1

"how many fucking times will this happen to me?" Sam stared blankly at the crème colored wall waiting for yet another doctor to come and tell her what is wrong with Jason this time. When Jason first got sick in 2005, she would often joke about trading him in for a newer model but when it came down to it, he was it for her. Danny was off at Summer camp for the next two weeks, so it would give her and Jason plenty of time to figure out something to tell him

Sam was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice Jade, Morgan's wife appears around the corner with a cup of coffee. "Sam, you alright." Sam zoned back in and forced an uneasy smile as she handed the worried wife the coffee, "I am sure that Jason will be fine, he has beat greater odds with ease; he will beat this!" Jade said adding a light pat on Sam's left shoulder. "It would be even easier to hear this pep talk if we knew what "It" is" Jade nodded in agreement before sitting by her.

"Where is Morgan?" Sam asked Jade, Morgan had only been back in Port Charles for almost a year, but things were still tense after everything that happened with Morgan's death being faked and his memory being wiped. "He is taking Liam for his first-year checkups." Jade grinned, every time she talked about her son with Morgan, she got all giddy and lovesick. "How is he doing, Morgan I mean?" Jade pursed her lips and tried to find the words to describe her husband's mood swings. "We have good days and bad days, but he is more tortured by the fact that he has no memory of Carly or Sonny. I mean it hurts that he doesn't remember Michael, but I think the fact that he doesn't remember his parents, it's on a whole other level."

Matt Hunter, who had been released from prison five months earlier and was already back at work, cleared his throat, seemingly interrupting their conversation. "How is he? "Sam casually asked as she stood from the harvest beige colored chair. "Jason is alive and that is probably the most fortunate news that he could ever hope to get when it comes to a patient with his medical history." Matt really did have his brother's bedside manner, if Sam didn't know Patrick as well as she did she would have him pegged as a total prick.

"you certainly are a ray of sunshine, what are you going to tell us next? Does Jason have cancer or kidney failure? "Jade was just being a smartass, it was in her genes to be sarcastic, never did she for a split, micro moment of a second think that any one of those two things could have ever been true about Jason. "Both, actually! Jason has a form of colon cancer, and both of his kidneys are failing." Jades mouth practically fell open and Sam swallowed hard, practically choking on the word "Cancer" she quietly spoke, she took a deep breath and tried her best to appear calm and assured.

"Oh my god! Jason is dead, isn't he?" Carly hurried off the elevator with Sonny trailing behind her, she had seen Jade and Sam's reaction while speaking to Matt and jumped to the worst conclusion. "Carly; Jason, he has cancer." Jade stood from the chair and walked over to her mother in-law who was now in absolute devastation and fear, Jade pulled her into a deep and meaningful hug and Carly allowed the two of them to have that special moment. "He will be fine, Carly! Jason is a fighter!" Jade reminded her before glancing at Sam who was still standing mute in the same spot, looking as if she had just been hit with a million tons of bricks. "You still with us, Sam?" Jade called out and she quickly shook the thought of their past from her mind and wiped away a few of her tears.

"I really need to get home! I need to relieve Melanie, get some laundry done and supper on the table before my husband gets home!" Sam took one final deep and exasperated breath before disappearing down the hallway towards the elevator leaving Jade, Sonny and Carly all looking stunned and concerned.

Samantha never thought she would be that person again, that concerned woman waiting to see if the love of her life was alive or not, it wasn't fair that after all these years she was still waiting in a fucking waiting room to see if Jason was alive. She was so mad at him, she was angry at him for not being enough to make him happy, he always had to live life at the most dangerous edge, if it wasn't life-threatening. He was bored! After pulling up to her colonial mansion; Sam put her car in park and grabbed a couple bags of groceries from the passenger seat and headed inside.

"Mommy; you are home!" Hunter came barreling towards her stark-naked with his arms wide open as if to give her a big hug. "Hunter, where are your clothes?" Sam chuckled as she dropped the bags at the doorway and picked him up. "Melanie was trying to give me a bath; I don't want one!" Hunter was three years old and he was already an absolute genius with pulling strings to get what he wanted. Sam laughed softly as she carried him back to the downstairs bathroom where Melanie appears out the door soaking wet, from head to toe. "I will take it from here, Mel; why don't you take the rest of the day off." Sam smiled politely and gave Melanie eighty dollars, it might seem like a lot for such a small amount of time but those two hours that Melanie has with hunter is a lot for anyone to spend with him, he is a handful.

"I really appreciate that, I actually have a date tonight and I would like to get home and get ready for it." Mel took the money and gave Hunter a kiss on his cheek before heading out. "Mommy, do I still have to take a bath?" Sam arched her brow, daring Hunter to give her any problems. "Yes; and Daddy will be home soon so the quicker you take your bath, the more time that you will have with Daddy before you go to bed." Sam swallowed hard; it was almost like she was refusing to let herself come to terms with Jason's predicament, so she was just focusing on everything else and everyone else in her life. "You want to help me with dinner? After we finish your bath, we can throw on some ribeye's, baked beans, red potatoes and cheese and some corn." Sam loved her babies, they really were her biggest fans, and she was theirs; there was nothing more important in her life than her children. "Can we make cake?" Hunter asked grinning from ear to ear, Sam chuckled softly as she carried him into the bathroom to give him his bath.

A few hours later, Sam and Hunter were standing in the kitchen finishing up the finishing touches of dinner before throwing together their cake. Hunter loved chocolate swirl; it was her favorite as well, she had never really been a fan of chocolate, but swirl was incredible.

"When will daddy be home?" Hunter and his father had an amazing relationship, he was great with both Hunter and Danny. The three of them really did have the perfect father-son relationship. "He is on his way home, he will be here before you know it." Sam said cracking an egg into the cake mix. "What about big brother? When will he get home?" Sam grinned as she whisked away in the deep red mixing bowl. Danny and Hunter were great brothers…when they weren't trying to kill each other, they had each other's back though, the first to jump to the others defense. "He will be home in two weeks." Sam reminded Hunter the second or third time but with how young he was, she didn't mind reminding him how long his brother would be at Summer camp. "Do you like it just being you, me and dad?" Sam asked Hunter who looked up and adorably tapped his chin with his index finger. "Yea, but I still miss brother." Sam stood in awe; sure, the boys fought like crazy when they were around each other, and sure; they stood up for one another but here was Hunter, openly admitting that he missed his brother. "Damn, I wish I got that on camera." Sam slapped her pant leg as Hunter roared laughing, a little too dramatic for her taste but that was Hunter for you. He was loud and outgoing; he was the entertainer of the family.

"Hey! Where is my welcoming committee?" Hunter practically dropped the whisk that he was licking when he heard his daddy come into the house. "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy." Hunter screamed bolting for the front door with Sam following behind him drying her hands preparing for a much-needed smooch. "Hey Hon! We have been waiting for you, my Sous chef and myself have been slaving over the hot stove to make dinner tonight, and do say so myself, we killed it!" Sam kneeled with her hand raised in a high five as Hunter reach on his tip toes and high-fived her. "I know that I am late, but you guys are awesome, I was just finishing up going through Jason's medical files for Matt, he wants me to look at his case." Sam swallowed uneasily; just hearing his name was putting her in a downward spiral.

"Well, Dr. Drake; you are home now, and we have this amazing feast to enjoy so go wash up and meet us down here, me and Hunter still need to finish our cake." Sam kissed his lips softly before disappearing back into the kitchen with Hunter following closely behind her. "Is it chocolate, you know that I love chocolate." Patrick really didn't care for chocolate all that much, but he knew that Hunter thought it was disgusting by itself and it amused him to hear Hunter's "Ewe, Daddy; chocolate is disgusting." In the sweetest childlike voice. "Patrick, do you want wine or a beer?" Sam knew that Patrick usually went for the simplicity of a good ole fashion cold one but there were days far in-between when he appreciated the fine things in life such as a glass of pinot grigio. "I am good with a beer." He answered aloud as she grabbed one from the fridge and placed it on the dining table. "Mom, is the cake ready, yet?" Sam sighed softly as she bent down to get at eye level with him. "Hunter, we just put it into the oven; it won't be ready till after you finish your dinner, and you won't be able to have a piece until you finish your dinner, deal?" Hunter crossed his arms in the most adorable pouty way. "Seriously? Moms these days!" Sam let out a guffaw as she stood back to her feet and grabbed the silverware. "Okay, I cannot begin to describe how amazing it feels to be out of scrubs, I mean; why can't I ware a simple pair of sweats to work?" Patrick asked as he came trotting down the stairs with a big grin on his face.

Sam glanced at him and couldn't help but smile by how happy he was but this was getting so hard for her, she couldn't keep pretending to be happy and not at all be effected by the fact that her ex-husband Jason was fighting for his life while she was feeding her family, Jason was still Danny's father and he needed her to help him. "Honey, are you okay?" Patrick asked standing behind her and rubbing her shoulders. "I am okay, I am just worried about Jason! I mean, Matt didn't exactly sugarcoat his prognosis." Sam had learned to love her brother in-law, but his bedside manner really needed a major reevaluation. "Why would he? Sam, I know that you care about him and that he is Danny's father, but Jason is very sick, and Matt needed to be honest about how seriously sick Jason is this time around." Sam took a deep breath as Patrick rubbed her shoulder. "I will say this, Jason Morgan is a fighter and this battle isn't prepared for the level of whoop ass that Jason will bring upon it." Sam agreed, Jason was a fighter and he could take almost anything in the world and come out of it stronger than he was before, but she wasn't so sure this time.

Sam, Patrick and Hunter all sat at the table and began to enjoy their meal meanwhile, across town in a lonely hospital room, Jason remains in critical condition. He hasn't regained consciousness with his girlfriend, Elizabeth sitting in a plush visitation chair practically nodding off to sleep. Jason's eyes flicker furiously back in forth in a rotation manner before he whispers out the words. "Sam."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter two_

 _Closer Than Most_

 _Sam's tear stained eyes flickered open, blinded by the ray of sunshine gasping through the bedroom window. It had been a week since she was told that Jason had cancer, a week of absolute torture for her. Sam had never been the kind of person to keep herself distant from Jason. It was just so incredibly hard to imagine seeing him in that bed, so weak and frail with absolutely nothing for her to do for him. Patrick hadn't said anything to her but she knew that he appreciated her keeping her distance from Jason. Patrick was always so uneasy about Sam and Jason being around each other, they were in therapy for a month when Jason came back to Port Charles. Did Sam still love Jason? She would never be able to answer that question honestly without looking for a divorce attorney because part of her would always love Jason. They didn't have a bad marriage, they didn't go through some horrible separation, he was taken from her and Danny and that love that resides deep in her heart will always be there. Sam leaned up from the bed, rubbed her face for a moment before standing up and limping into the bathroom. Sam was getting older and with that age, the stress came where anytime she was worried or concerned about anything, her joints would suffer. Sam swung open the shower door and reach in, turning the hot and cold knobs. Sam distressingly sighs as she feels the warm, soothing water dripping from between her fingers. She slowly begins to disrobe careful not to overuse any muscles due to how sore she is! She never used to let herself become so stressed that her body would suffer because of it. When Sam steps underneath the warming waterfall that is pouring from her shower, she finally lets herself relax for a few moments. A mother's job is never done as Hunter comes racing into the bedroom with flower all over him! Literally from head to toe, Sam let out a completely forced smile as she turned the shower off and grabbed her robe that laid across the backside of the shower. She wrapped it around her body and tied a knot around her waist as she stepped out to scan her completely covered in flour toddler. "Do I even want to know?" Sam asked grinning but, she was screaming with frustration on the inside but knowing Hunter, he had the most genuine intentions. "Danny and I were making you breakfast." Sam looked confusingly at Hunter almost concerned cause Danny wasn't scheduling to come home for another week. Sam cleared her voice to speak until she heard a familiar voice coming into the bedroom "Hey, Hunter! Don't tell me that you woke up mom before I was able to bathe you!" There was Danny standing there. "Oh Gawd, Mom! Cover up, I seriously want to melt my eyes right now!" Sam looked down and noticed that the robe was see-through! She quickly dashed into the closet and threw on Patrick's robe. When Sam walked out of the closet, Danny still had his eyes squinted shut as if he had seen the scariest horror film. Danny was fourteen years old and he seriously acted like a nineteen-year-old. "Oh Danny, Baby; I have missed you so much." Sam said grinning from ear to ear as she hurried over to hug him. "Freeze! I have missed you too mom but in the last ten seconds I have seen way too much of you, enough to last me ten lifetimes, so we should probably just shake hands till the image has been expelled from my memory." Sam chuckled before pulling him into a deep hug. She didn't want to embarrass him in front of Hunter but she missed him so much and she had so much that she needed to tell him, none of which he would understand. "I do have one question, not that I am not thrilled for you to be home but. What's with the flour on your brother?" Sam asked Danny as they both looked at Hunter who was now shaking the flour from his hair. "Oh! Little Einstein thought that he would pick up the bag of flour after I repeatedly asked him to wait for me to get the measuring cup! I already cleaned the kitchen though." Danny threw up his hands to make sure that Sam fully understood that the kitchen was completely clean. "Wait a minute! How did you get home?" Sam asked confused all over again. "Well, Elizabeth called me and told me how much Dad missed me so I hitched a ride on a greyhound bus back home." Sam's eyes widened in shock. "Honey, that's like a fourteen-hour trip back home!" Sam couldn't believe that Danny showed so much resolve to get back home to be with his dad. "Actually, it was more like seventeen hours but…what are details." Sam nibbled at her bottom lip as Danny moved past her to collect Hunter in his arm. "I am going to get him all bathed and deflou-I am not even about to finish that statement." Sam nodded in agreement as he walked out of the room with hunter dangling in his arms. Sam calmly picked up her cell phone and dialed a number that she had dialed so many time in the past for similar reasons. "Elizabeth? Yes, I need you to get your infuriating, scheming, interfering ass over here right now because we are fighting! Yes, my son has decided to ditch camp early, and took a ride on a greyhound! Okay, let Jake know so he can come see Danny!" Sam hung up the phone, it wasn't as catty as Sam and Elizabeth were in the past but they were moms now and that needed a certain level of maturity and class, good moms don't throw punches and call other women terrible names so they must do it in secret, with glares._

 _Elizabeth was at home when her former arch nemesis phoned her, most didn't understand her and Sam's off-putting banters. Sam and Elizabeth didn't hate one another, they weren't the best of pals but they appreciated each other's willingness to do whatever for their family and their kids. Elizabeth knew that she was in the wrong for bringing Danny back to port Charles or sticking a bug in his ear that his dad really missed him but how was she to know that the kind and compassionate young man would jump on a bus and come back home. "Jake, your brother is back home! Let go over to Sam's and spend some time with him." Elizabeth sat down in front of her vanity table and began to apply a small amount of blush and some lipstick, it was just Sam and Danny but Elizabeth always felt so insignificant around Sam so she needed to throw in some extra effort to remind Sam that Jason was with her. She stopped for a moment and sighed looking down. "Elizabeth, what the hell is your problem! Sam is happily married to Patrick, there is no competition! Why do you keep trying to find one?" She grabbed a makeup wipe and began to rub the makeup from her face. "Hey Ma! Does bubba know about dad?" Elizabeth couldn't believe how much Jake had grown, he was in his senior year in high school, and in a short time; he would be off at college making memories that would last him a lifetime. "I don't think so, I mean! I really don't know but Sam didn't say anything to me but just to be safe, let's talk to Sam first before we say anything." Jake nodded in agreement as both he and Elizabeth walked out of their house towards Jakes truck._

" _I really don't think I can handle being there when he is told about dad, I mean it was bad enough to hear it myself but I honestly think it will kill me to see Danny react to the possibility that we might lose dad." Jake said as he slid into the driver side while Elizbeth got in through the passenger side with a stunned look on her face at what had just came out of Jakes mouth. "I am sorry, ma! But, this is a fact that we have to consider that we won't have that much longer with dad." It always shocked Elizabeth and Sam at how much like Jason the boys were, they were both brutal realist! And they never let anyone see them cry, except each other so there really was a deep brotherhood between the two of them. "I know that his prognosis looks rough but your father is as strong as nails." Elizabeth said as tears began to swell in her eyes. "Yea, they have everything thrown at them before they bend all to hell and break." Jake coldly and honestly pointed out before starting his truck and pulling out of the driveway. Liz and Jake didn't speak the whole way to Sam's home; too much had already been said between them and they needed to let things sit before they spoke again. Jake didn't mean to be cruel but he hated it when people were illogically hopeful! When everything was stacked against something and there's that one person relying on the 0.0.1 chance of things working out. Jason had spent his whole life fighting for everyone and everything and all that Jake wanted was for him to stop being asked to fight and just let the man have some fucking peace in his life, he deserved it after everything he had been through in the last year alone. As Jake pulled into the driveway of Sam's home, they were welcomed by a naked Hunter running through the front yard with Danny chasing after him. "Hunter, I got that cologne you like!" Jake opened the truck and pulled out his Invictus cologne which was all three of their favorites but only Jake and Danny had their own bottles seeing as how the only babe that Hunter was charming was the babysitter and Jake had already dated her, she wasn't worth it. "Jake! I want to be naked! And bubba is trying to put clothes on me!" Danny sighed frustrated as he gave Jake a quick hug. "That's what high school is for, Hunterman!" Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock as Danny began to chuckle heavily. "Danny, don't laugh at that! That's horrible! What example are you setting for your brother?" Elizabeth asked as Jake smirked at Danny. "One that will get him lots of girls swooning after him with wonderous eyes…in high school, don't go chasing around Lizzie McGuire now!" Jake picked Hunter up and carried him into the house with Elizabeth and Danny, still chuckling from Jakes joke following behind them. Sam was walking down the stairs from her room when the four of them walked in. "That is such a nervous group of people! Danny looks like he went swimming in his clothes, Hunter looks like he rolled around in the grass naked, Elizabeth looks like she seen a tearjerker about an hour ago and never fixed her mascara and Jake. "Hunter just peed on me." Jake said as calmly as he could but with Sam, Elizabeth and Danny all laughing uncontrollably, he slowly put Hunter down as if the toddler was a bomb that would ignite even more urine from him if he was put down to hard or too fast. "Oh yea, make fun of the guy who got pissed on! That is just hilarious!" Jake disappear into the bathroom when Danny looked over at Elizabeth. "Hey, where is dad? Isn't he with you." And with that, Jake was out of the bathroom completely shirtless with his new tattoo making its grand appearance. "Jake, when did you get that?" Elizabeth yelled looking at the Italian phrase below his left breast. "I guess that means that I can't get one when I get older?" Daniel asked looking up at Sam and Elizabeth who sighed. "We will talk about it when you are old enough to realize that it is permanent and will never come off." Sam bit her bottom lip as she glanced at Elizabeth who was almost in tears standing before this grown man who once was her little baby. "Mam, don't do that! I believe that Danny asked about dad and I think he deserves an explanation about why he isn't here!" Sam nodded before nudging Danny's back for him to follow her into the living room. "Danny, your dad wanted to be here to see you but a lot has happened since you have been gone." Sam could hardly look at her own son, she knew that he would be able to see it in her eye that something was terribly wrong with his father. "Is he okay, he didn't get hurt or shot while I was gone, did he?" Sam could feel the tears streaming down her cheek already as Jake blurted out. "He has cancer, Danny!" Elizabeth gave Jake a swift kick to the leg which sent him limping into the foyer of the house. "What right did you have to tell him!" Elizabeth screamed at Jake in a whispering manner. "We would have had plenty of time to figure out what to tell him had you not called him and made him worry!" Jake whammed back at Elizabeth who sighed upon hearing Danny's whimpers coming from the living room. Jake took a deep and rugged breath before walking back into the room and seeing Sam cradling his little brother in her arms. Jake thought about what he had told Elizabeth on the way there, he couldn't be that honest with his little brother, he had to give him the hope that he just couldn't muster up anymore! Danny needed their father and Jake wasn't going to let his pessimistic attitude cripple Danny's faith in miracles. "Hey, why are you crying? Our father is Jason Morgan who has literally came back from the dead! Do you really think that a little bit of cancer will kick him! He is a bloody beast once he sets his mind to something and I promise you, he is going to do everything he can to beat this so he can watch you grow up and meet a wonderful, gorgeous, bodacious babe and marry her, and then you will have beautiful children who will love their grandpa and he will be there for every baseball game, for every cheer practice! There is nothing more important to Jason Morgan than the happiness of his babies!" Jakes voice quivered before that last part, His own life was in transition and he needed his dad there with him._

" _Jake, I just don't think that dad should have to continue to fight in every aspect of his life! Hasn't he suffered enough, I mean when is god going to say, well done?" That one got all three of them, Sam even grabbed her mouth to keep from completely losing it in front of her kids. "Well, I've never really thought a lot about god which is why ma often tells me that I am on a road headed straight to hell but I do know that he sees all that we do and every challenge, test, experience is put before us to mold us into the people that we are meant to be like dad and the cancer! When he beats this, he is going to be so much stronger and god put that before him to remind him how strong he really is and that he can take anything that anyone throws at him because no one is stronger than god!" Danny sighed as countless more tears streamed down his cheek, his head slowly nestled into Jakes neck and there knelt two brothers alike in so many ways but true to their own personalities and closer than most._


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

It was pointless to tell Danny that he was unable to see Jason, the kid had his father's resolve and once his mind was made up, there was no changing it. Sam had no real intention of seeing Jason, she desperately wanted to but the thought of it being disrespectful to Patrick helped her keep her distance from her ex-husband. "Mom, will you please come with me to see dad?" The conversation was at a standstill in the Livingroom where Danny, Sam, Elizabeth, Jake and Hunter left off only a few hours earlier. Sam uncomfortably glanced at Hunter who was literally wrapped around Jakes legs as he slowly walked around the Livingroom to keep the toddler entertained while Sam talked with Danny. "Danny, baby; I have Hunter and I don't think he would handle too well being in a hospital so soon after his shots this year..." Jake sighed, clearly annoyed but he understood Sam's predicament but it didn't mean that he agreed with her solution for it. "Sam, Joss can watch Hunterman! She's been meaning to spend some time with him anyway to. Trust me, she is totally okay with watching him for a few hours so we can go see dad!" Danny arched a brow at Jake who nodded in agreement, the two of them clearly had a secret even Elizabeth and Sam could crack that open but it was no time for "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego"

"Okay, Jake why don't you and Danny go call Joss and have her meet us here while Elizabeth helps me keep Hunter content while I get changed!" Sam said as she stood up from the couch, picked Hunter up off with floor and headed upstairs to her room with Elizabeth following closely behind her. "Dude, do you have any idea how close you came to completely throwing all of us under the bus! I mean, do you really think that your mom wants to hear that you knocked up Carly's daughter?" Danny whispered as he glanced around the room to make sure that Elizabeth and Sam were held up behind a corner listening to them. "I know, I just wish that there was another way that Joss and I could do this without completely betraying our family!" Jake was a stone when it came to the mushy stuff but when it came to the serious shit, Danny had it all locked down. "We had to do it this way, they never would have believed that I came home just because I missed everyone, we were lucky that Liz called me! She gave me the excuse I needed to come home! I mean, I love dad as I know that you do to but we both know this is going to be a cakewalk for him!" Jake had never been more afraid of his younger brother; the kid really was the world's greatest actor and that scared the fuck out of him.

"Do I think that Joselyn Jacks is going to be a decent wife to bring into the Morgan family, hell no but I do know that dad would expect you to do right by Carly's daughter! I just hope I am there when you announce her new title to Elizabeth and Carly! It is going to be one hell of an introduction." Jake nodded in agreement, Jake and Danny really did have each other's back like no other set of brothers, they literally told each other everything and bailed each other out when things got to be too much. "I still can't believe that you were able to forge both ma's and Carly's signature! Where the hell did they send you to camp at? Juvenile Lake?" Danny sighed and grabbed his backpack from behind the couch. "You wouldn't need a signature from them…and for the record, I was able to do that when I was like nine! I was raised by a reformed con artist, it is in my genes!" Danny pulled out a folder and began searching through some printed sheets of paper. "Here! It says in some states they will waive the age of maturity in situations where a teen pregnancy has occurred! Jake, we could easily fly to Florida with Joslyn and get a quickie marriage license for the two of you, it is foolproof!" Jake sighed as Danny handed him the sheet of paper. "What makes you think I would take you along?" Danny scoffed in amusement. "I am not saying that I would say anything to anyone about where the two of you have run off to but if for some odd reason, they did realize that you two were gone, who do you think they would come to for answers! And my mother knows when I am lying, and she has this look that she gives me that I just can't bear to lie when I see it." Jake growled as he buried his head into his hands.

"When do we leave?" Jake asked completely giving up the fight, knowing all too well that Danny had a way of getting exactly what he wanted, every single time. "After we see dad! I really have missed him and I need him to know that I am home and that I am not going anywhere…. after we return with your brand-new bride! How is she?" Danny really couldn't stand Joss, she treated him like a kid when it fact he was way smarter than most kids his own age, and way more mature than most adults. "She is scared, this has literally rocked our worlds to their core and we have this huge responsibility on our hands and I don't think that she is really prepared to make the sacrifices needed for our baby!" Jake wasn't sure how he felt about the baby but he couldn't help but in some way, feel a certain closeness to it. "Wow…you sound like a dad! I mean, when you told me last week, it didn't fully hit me what you were saying, but I see it now! You are going to make one hell of a dad!" Jake took a deep and ragged breath fighting back the heartfelt tears that were sure to fight their way down his chiseled cheek. "Thank you, Danny! I have never wanted to disappoint you, or in any way be a bad influence in your life so to hear you say that, it is the greatest gift that I could ever receive from you." Jake pulled his younger brother into a hug as Elizabeth and Sam came rushing down the stairs with Sam sporting a simple black led zeppelin shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Oh, come on, guys! You are killing us." Elizabeth whimpered as she grabbed the tissue from her purse to wipe the tears from her eyes. "Oh, damn! I never called Joss for Hunter!" Jake sighed as he glanced up at the two women and back at Danny. "you should go ahead without me, I will call her and wait for her here until she arrives and then I will meet you guys at the hospital." Jake explained as Danny nodded in agreement. "Jake, no funny business! You two have Hunter to remind you of how serious unprotected sex is!" Danny couldn't help but let out a little cough to keep from laughing. "Danny, you okay! You sound like you have a little cold there!" Jake growled at Danny while Sam and Elizabeth followed him out the front door. "Seriously Elizabeth! Get with the times! Teenagers aren't scared of teen pregnancy anymore, now; they are making pacts to get pregnant!" Danny grimaced at his mother's knowledge. "Mom! I have already boiled my eyes! If you make me cut off my ears, I will be another Helen Keller and we both know, I will be ten times the neurotic, dramatic, hypochondriac I already am so quit while your ahead." Sam knew that Danny was a smartass but usually it was all in fun and games. "Okay, so you definitely think there is something going on between Jake and Danny! Do you think Joss is involved?" Sam whispered to Elizabeth as Danny slid into the backseat of Sam's blood red Yukon. "All three of them are hiding something big and I am horrified of what it could be! What if Jake got Joss pregnant!" Elizabeth whispered back, Sam sighed with tension before she slid into the driver side with Elizabeth sliding into the passenger side. "Danny, what is your brother hiding?" the only word that entered Danny's mind was _fuck, why the hell hadn't he thought this part through completely!_ The two of them were tag teaming him into ratting out his brother. "I don't know, I have been out of town and as far as any sort of weirdness from Jake, seeing as how are father is dying! You two might want to cut him some slack!" He seemed way too quick to smart off but hopefully his mother would snap at him for being disrespectful and then completely lose her train of thought which would save Jake and Joss. "Daniel Edward Morgan! I understand you have had a horribly traumatic day but that doesn't give you the right to be short and snappy! I have tolerated it for quite a while today but point check, knock it off!" Danny took a deep breath, that wasn't so bad, well, he will know for sure when they get out of the car, if she sweeps him in the parking lot! It will be noticeably worse than he imagined.

Danny slowly pulled out his cell phone, sending an urgent text to Jake, _"Bro, they are onto us! Call Michael and have him take care of Hunter, tell him that you and Joss need a break from him! The tickets are in my backpack, they will take you to Florida! Your flight leaves in four hours so you guys need to pack and get your asses to the airport!"_ Sent! "Danny, are you listening to me?" He glanced up at Sam, "I am sorry, mom. What did you say?" Sam nervously bit her bottom lip as she stared at him through the rearview mirror. "I was asking if you were okay, you look like you were playing a scary intense game of jenga on your phone!" Danny forced out the most dramatic laugh, he really had no idea how insane this whole experience was going to turn out. "Well, you know how I love those thrill-seeking games!" Sam nodded not really buying the whole thing nor was Elizabeth but knowing that all they needed to know was in his phone. "Danny, let me see your phone!" _Oh fuck! fuck! fuck! Fuck! Okay, one more text and then I need to delete the whole thread! "I found the perfect chapel for the wedding, it's on 2037 Hempel Ave, Gotha, FL 34734! I went to camp with the guys son, he said that his dad can set the two of you up in a really nice honeymoon suite, topnotch!"_ _send, delete, delete, delete, delete the whole fucking thread Danny, what is your damage! Okay, it's done!_ Snatch and with that, Sam was holding the whole thing in her hands. "You didn't have to snatch it away from me, ever heard of privacy?" Sam slammed intensely on the breaks. "Privacy, Daniel! This is my phone! I pay for this phone! You don't get to have privacy on the phone that I pay for! That is lesson number one and as far number two! Whatever little secret that you and your brother have going on, we are going to find it out!" Danny was nervous at first being that he was only a bratty teenager, he might have missed a text and it could easily crack the whole thing open. "Danny, you need to tell me what is going on." Sam said as she tossed the phone on the dashboard realizing it had all been deleted! "There is nothing going on! Have you ever thought that maybe this whole thing is something that is very personal and private for me and Jake! You two want to bust everything up and know every aspect of our lives, we aren't kids anymore! I might still be young but I still have a right to be my own person and have my own life so please respect it!" Sam nodded understandingly, which really made no actual sense to her but Danny really was very manageable in his life, he got on a greyhound and traveled all the way back to Port Charles without a second thought.

"I just worry about you, that is all! I know that you are smart and can take care of yourself which kind of kills me! I never thought that my own children would have the same kind of spirit that I had when I was your age! Danny, sometimes; it's okay to let the people around you know when things get to rough! That's what family is for!" Sam said almost drenched in tears as she handed his cell phone back to him. "I apologize mom; I know that my attitude really sucks and I am so sorry for that but I just, I want freedom! I mean, I went to camp and you literally had bodyguards on me, I had to call Uncle Sonny to have them called off me! I want a life where I don't have a giant of a man following me around threatening every person who might want to hang out! But thanks to your overbearing, smothering ways, I don't have any sort of friendships! I have Max and Milo patting down everyone who gets within 10 feet from me and that is my life." Danny confessed as he pushed the phone back towards her. "I don't need it! That is your phone, you pay the bill!" Elizabeth had literally been whistling the entire car ride to the hospital, she was practically down to one nail when they arrived. Elizabeth was really concerned about Jake but she couldn't help but agree with Danny. He really did have a very sheltered life, Sam only allowed for him to go to summer camp with the promise that Max and Milo would be there to watch him. The kid was practically screaming for some independence and Jake really did give him that, he treated him like an actual person who could take care of himself which explains the closeness that they shared with each other but on the other hand, he was screaming for some independence in the worst possible way. The rest of the ride to the hospital really was a tense ball of uncomfortableness

When Jake texted Joselyn for Hunter, she swallowed hard; her life had become one emotional break down after another one, the baby was just one piece of the complication that was her life. Joss loved Jake and wanted to spend the rest of her life with him but their situation wasn't ideal! They were seventeen years old, most teenagers who had kids that young ended up in government apartments on welfare, of course, they had very supportive families but that was beside the point, they had made a stupid and childish mistake that would forever impact their lives! The drive to the drakes was cloudy; her mind was racing of all the things that she would never be able to experience without needing a babysitter. She couldn't even think about the baby without bursting into tears, it was all so overwhelming and her hormones were already wacky and emotional; she couldn't let herself calm down. Jake had such an optimistic look about the baby which was the last thing she expected from him but he was such a standup guy that walking away from her and the baby never crossed his mind. She stopped at the street light on Chapel Street, her phone was screaming "Fight Song" she quickly wiped the smudged mascara from her tear stained face.

"Hey; I should be there in about 10 minutes! What? Jake, slow down! What are you talking about? Oh god! Okay; I can't go back home than! I don't know if they have called mom! If she sees me, I will not get out of that house! I will go pick something up at the mall, it will take me ten minutes! And then I will meet you at the airport! They might have an early boarding! Okay, I love you to! Don't say anything to Michael!" and with that, she was thrusted back into the reality of her situation. Joss made a quick u turn and headed towards Starlight Plaza, it wasn't exactly in Port Charles but it was by the airport and she had a 45-minute drive ahead of her, plenty of time to rehearse the story she was going to have to explain to her mother who seriously had no clue of what was to come for their family.

Jake wasn't prepared to experience any of this; he had a pregnant girlfriend who was the stepdaughter of a mobster who also was kind of like his uncle but still, there were rules! At least he was marrying her, maybe that would make up for it, he knew that wasn't true but it comforted him into believing they might forgive him one day! Jake knew that Carly would blame his mother for their mistake, like if she had raised him better than none of it would have ever happened! It really bothered him to know that other people would be made responsible for the decisions that he and Joss and made, ones that impacted them more so than anyone else! He had made a mistake and he would have to pay for it with every day of his life! This little human growing in Joss would be here soon and it needed him to be the man that took responsibility and made sacrifices for his family, that was all that mattered to him.

Once Danny arrived at the hospital; he was an emotional wreck! He was so calm on the way there, well not really but nothing had prepared him for that long hallway that lead to the room where his father laid in a bed fighting for his life! It didn't take him long to realize that his problems with Joss were so trivial when their father fought to take each breath. Elizabeth, who was a few feet behind Danny made sure that she was in front of Sam, it was a childish habit that Sam noticed quickly! She wasn't there for Jason, she loved him but this wasn't her life anymore, Elizabeth wanted it and was welcomed to it! Sam didn't have too many high hopes for Elizabeth and Jason, she had seen this from Elizabeth for twenty years and it still amazed her how clingy Elizabeth acted around Jason and that was something that Jason hated with a passion but it wasn't her problem anymore, Elizabeth could do her little dance for a little while but Jason would only take so much before he pulled away, especially now and that was also something that Sam knew from experience with him.

Once at the door, Elizabeth went ahead and opened the door while Danny and Sam stayed behind, this was same old, same old for Sam but Danny despite only having a few key memories with his father since Jason fought his way back from the dead, Danny had never seen Jason weakened or vulnerable! Tears streamed down her face as she knelt at eye level with Danny who miserably fought back completely losing it, he never expected opening that door to be so hard, it was like the knob was fiery coal that would burn his hand if turned. "Honey, you don't have to do this! Your dad loves you and I think you seeing him in that bed will be just as traumatic for him as it is for you! He will understand if you want to leave; and he won't think any less of you! You are his son and he loves you so much!" Sam quivered as more tears streamed, Sam would have suffered a thousand gunshots to keep Danny from ever experience grief, especially something has crippling as the realization that his father isn't superman!

"I can do this, I have to do this because I know that Dad would walk through a million universes of hell for me so I should be able to open a damn door for him!" Danny took a deep and determined breath as he turned the knob and pushed the door open, his eyes widened with shock and terror seeing his father sitting up in the bed, his skin was pale, the stylish locks that all the Morgan men had been blessed with was as smooth as skin, his father was bald and sickly! Danny looked away from him and buried his face into Sam's stomach and began to cry uncontrollably. Sam was shocked and devastated but she refused to break the eye contact that she shared with him. Jason took a deep and ragged breath before easing out of the bed with Elizabeth right at his side helping him. "I am fine!" He screamed angrily at her as Sam pursed her lips into her mouth, she wasn't surprised; Jason was independent and refused to be taken care of by anyone.

Jason staggered to Danny, nearly falling onto the ground but Sam quickly moved past Danny and wrapped her arms around his torso, helping him stand; his arm wrapped around her shoulder before slowly stepping away from her and towards his son who faced the door. "Danny, look at me." Jason spoke softly as Danny turned to face him. "I know how scary this all is and it kills me that you have to see me like this but I am not in any pain! I am just pale from the chemo treatments but it is to make me better so I can go home and be with you and your brother." Danny swallowed hard as he slowly walked towards Jason and gently wrapped his arms around his father, hugging him like it's the last time they will ever see each other. Sam closed her eyes and took a deep and gut-wrenching breath, it was all so much, way more than she ever expected it to be! Why hadn't she been there for Jason, she should have been there! And she would never be able to forgive herself for completely abandoning him. Jason looked down at Danny and back at Sam, seeing the tears running down her cheek as she forced a smile at him. The tears welled up in his eyes shocked her as he pulled her into a deep hug, the moment would have been so heartfelt and sweet if Elizabeth Webber wasn't standing by the bed with the sourest look on her face, it was as if she was watching someone beat up her grandmother and there was nothing that she could do about it. "Sam, I know that a lot of things have changed but I want you to know that I love you so much! I don't think I will ever get over you." He whispered to her, Sam nearly passed out with shock but she couldn't let herself pull away from him. Their lives were so different but this was the first time in ten years that she had been able to hug him and it was such a special moment, she didn't want it to end.

Jason had been gone from her life for ten years, ten years that she believed that he was wasting away in an ocean somewhere nothing but dust and bones but he was with her and their son, she knew that she needed to have a conversation with Patrick because she had to be honest, she loved Patrick with all of her heart but that was only a small piece of her heart, truth being that most of what resided deep in her chest belonged to Jason Morgan, she had ignored it and lied to herself for long enough; she shuddered to think about how different things were soon to be with Patrick, the life that they had designed together, the plans that they had made for the future, it was all so far away from her mind as she stood wrapped in Jason's arms and their son, Danny holding them both so closely. The revelation being that he still loved her; but it also meant that their future wasn't a for sure thing! This could kill him but Sam had never lived her life in the safe lane, not until Patrick but she wasn't being herself and it took seeing Jason for her to realize how much she had molded herself to fit into Patrick's life! When Jason first met Sam, she was a hellfire, she didn't give a shit what anyone thought and that was what made him fall in love with her and now, twenty three years later, she still makes his heart skip a beat; nothing in the world would ever change that for them.


End file.
